Motor vehicle roof with a roof opening and a wind deflector

ABSTRACT

Motor vehicle roof with a roof opening, a movable closing element to selectively close or at least partially clear the roof opening, a wind deflector in a front edge area of the roof opening and which is movable between lowered and fully raised positions, and a positioning device for setting intermediate positions of the wind deflector which has a holder which engages the wind deflector and a driven displacement mechanism for vertically displacing the wind deflector into the intermediate positions. The adjustment mechanism has a guide element which is driven by the drive into motion along the wind deflector with an inclined guideway along which an engagement element which is connected to the holder is movably guided. The engagement element is supported on a body-mounted carrier such that it can be moved with respect to the carrier only normal to the direction of motion of the guide element.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to a motor vehicle roof with a roof opening and awind deflector, a closing element which can be displaced to selectivelyclose or at least partially clear the roof opening, in which the winddeflector is located in the area of the front edge of the roof openingand can be moved between a lowered and a fully raised position, and apositioning device for setting intermediate positions of the winddeflector which has a holder which engages the wind deflector and anmovement mechanism which is driven by a drive which displaces the holderto dictate the intermediate positions of the wind deflector.

2. Description of Related Art

Generic motor vehicle roofs are known in which the wind deflector ismounted to be able to pivot around a roof-mounted axle which runs in thetransverse direction of the roof and is elastically pretensioned in thedirection of the completely raised position, the wind deflector beinglowered against the pretensioning force when the closing element or thecover is being closed by means of the cover drive, and the holder whichengages the wind deflector acting as a hold-down in the intermediatepositions.

This generic motor vehicle roof is described, for example, in publishedGerman Patent Application DE 199 58 742 A1 and corresponding U.S. Pat.No. 6,357,823, the positioning device being located in the area of thefront edge of the roof opening and being provided with a lever mechanismwhich has two mirror-symmetrical positioning rockers, one end of whichforms a stop for the wind deflector and the other end of which iscoupled to a control lever which sits on the driven shaft of theactuator. The comparatively large installation space required is thedisadvantage in this approach.

Published German Patent Application DE 101 42 047 A1 and correspondingU.S. Pat. No. 6,626,486 discloses a similar construction, the stop forthe wind deflector being determined by a wire of a shape memory alloy.Published French Patent Application FR 2 810 592 A1 describes a motorvehicle roof in which the wind deflector position can be set via asheathed cable which engages the wind deflector. Published German PatentApplication DE 101 46 285 A1 discloses a motor vehicle roof in which thestop for the raising of the wind deflector takes place via lateralcontrol levers which are actuated by the cover. A similar motor vehicleroof is also described in published German Patent Application DE 198 09943 A1.

Published European Patent Application EP 0 931 683 A2 discloses a motorvehicle roof in which the movement of the wind deflector takes place viaa wind deflector servomotor which drives a pinion which is connected tothe wind deflector via a drive cable.

Published German Patent Application DE 197 01 479 A1 describes a motorvehicle roof in which the wind deflector is displaced via a lateralcontrol cam which is driven by the servomotor to be able to move in thelengthwise direction of the roof and which is made as a guide band, forexample, in the form of a vertically arranged toothed belt.

Published German Patent Application DE 197 14 492 A1 describes a motorvehicle roof in which the wind deflector can be pivoted around a pivotaxis which runs on its front end in the transverse direction of theroof, a guide element which is provided with a inclined guide path beingpermanently connected to the wind deflector and a guide pin which isdriven into displacement motion in the transverse direction of the roofbeing engaged in the guide path such that, during the displacementmotion of the guide pin in the transverse direction of the roof,pivoting of the guide element and thus of the wind deflector takesplace.

Published German Patent Application DE 102 10 617 A1 describes a motorvehicle roof in which the stop for the raising motion of the winddeflector can be adjusted by means of one end of a control lever whichis made as a rocker and the other end of which is controlled via aseparate motor by a guide slot which runs in the lengthwise direction ofthe roof.

Published German Patent Application DE 39 13 567 A1 describes a motorvehicle roof in which a wind deflector is provided in the area of itstop edge with additional elements which are supported on the winddeflector such that, if necessary, they can be pushed up over the topedge of the wind deflector, this taking place by a respective guide pinwhich is driven by a drive in the transverse direction of the rooffitting into an inclined guide path on the respective additional elementby sliding.

The aforementioned motor vehicle roofs have different disadvantages. Inpart they do not allow any actuation of the wind deflector independentof the cover and the positioning device of the wind deflector requires alarge amount of installation space or does not ensure reliable controlof the wind deflector or requires relatively many components.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of this invention is to devise a motor vehicle roofwith a roof opening and a wind deflector, in which adjustment ofintermediate positions of the wind deflector is as flexible as possible,the amount of installation space required and the number of requiredparts will be kept as small as possible and a durable structure will beachieved.

This object is achieved in accordance with the invention by thedisplacement mechanism having a guide element which is driven by thedrive into motion along the wind deflector with a inclined guidewayalong which an engagement element which is connected to the holder ismovably guided, the engagement element being supported on a body-mountedcarrier such that it can be moved with respect to the carrier onlynormal to the direction of motion of the guide element, or by akinematic reversal of this approach.

In the approach in accordance with the invention, it is advantageousthat by means of the positioning device, the position of the winddeflector can be easily varied, especially depending on the drivingspeed and/or the degree of opening of the closing element, in order toachieve optimum reduction of wind noise and humming noise, and thepositioning device can be made very compact with little demand forinstallation space and especially can be integrated in the front,transversely running part of the roof frame for the closing element.Furthermore, the number of additional parts which is necessary for thepositioning device can be kept very small and the positioning device canbe made very durable and thus reliable.

The invention is explained in detail below by way of example using theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of only the wind deflector andthe front roof frame area of a motor vehicle roof in accordance with theinvention as seen from obliquely forward,

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of a partial area of the motor vehicleroof from FIG. 1, the roof frame being in part cut free and the winddeflector being shown in the lowered position;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the area shown in FIG. 2, butviewed from obliquely behind and with the wind deflector being partiallycutaway;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but from a somewhat differentperspective, the positioning device for the wind deflector being shownin the position in which the wind deflector is fully raised;

FIG. 5 is a sectional representation in the lengthwise direction of theroof in the area of line V-V in FIG. 2, but the guide pin, in contrastto FIG. 2, being shown in its upper position;

FIG. 6 is a sectional representation along line VI-VI in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 3, part of the guide element beingcutaway and the positioning device being shown in the position in whichthe wind deflector is fully raised;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a portion of a vehicle roof in which thewind deflector arrangement of the present invention has been installed,with the movable cover panel in its closed position;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a portion of a vehicle roof in which thewind deflector arrangement of the present invention has been installed,with the movable cover panel in a partially open position;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to that of FIG. 5, but showing the guide pinin its lowered position with the wind deflector fully retracted; and

FIG. 11 schematically shows an embodiment having a kinematic reversal ofthe positioning mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a wind deflector 10 and of the forward part of atransversely extending roof frame 12 for a motor vehicle roof, the motorvehicle roof having a roof opening (see, FIG. 9) which can beselectively closed or can be at least partially cleared by a movableclosing element C (see, FIGS. 9 & 10). The wind deflector 10 and theillustrated part of the roof frame 12 are located in the area of thefront edge of the roof opening, the roof frame being used as a supportfor the closing element. The wind deflector extends over the entirewidth of the roof opening.

The closing element C can be, for example, the cover of a sliding roof,sliding and lifting roof, externally guided sliding roof or spoiler roofor the louvers of a louvered roof.

The wind deflector 10 comprises a front wind deflector surface and twolateral arms 14 which are supported on their back end at 16 to be ableto pivot around a fixed axis which runs in the transverse direction ofthe roof. In a conventional manner, the wind deflector 10 ispretensioned by means of a spring element in the area of the lateralarms 14 into the fully raised position in which the front wind deflectorsurface is raised up above the height of the fixed roof surface, inorder to eliminate or reduce wind noise and humming noise which occurwhen driving with the closing element opened. When the closing elementis closed, the wind deflector is pressed down or lowered against thespring pretensioning into a storage space which is provided in the roofframe, this action taking place by actuating the side arms 14 when theclosing element is being closed.

The fully raised position of the wind deflector 10 is dictated by afixed stop (not shown). However, generally, it is desirable undercertain circumstances to set the wind deflector 10 also in intermediatepositions between the lowered and the fully raised position. Thus,conventionally, humming noise occurs mainly in the lower speed range(for example, up to 100 km/h; 60 mph) so that, in this range, generallythe fully raised position of the wind deflector 10 is desirable, whileat higher speeds hardly any humming noise occurs so that it is notnecessary in this speed range to fully raise the wind deflector.

To implement these intermediate positions, there is the positioningdevice which is described below and which has a servomotor 18 which, forexample, can be made as a rotary motor which drives a spindle 20, whichis movable in the transverse direction of the roof, and an element whichis stiff in tension-compression, which runs in the manner of a rod inthe transverse direction of the roof and which is driven by means of acoupling arrangement 24 by the spindle 20 into displacement motion inthe transverse direction of the roof and is movably guided in thetransverse direction of the roof on a guide rail 23 which is formed onthe roof frame 12 and which is provided with a cover 25. The positioningdevice furthermore comprises a guide element 26 which forms part of anelement 22 which is stiff in tension-compression or is permanentlyconnected to it and has an inclined guide slot 28 into which anengagement element which is made as a guide pin or bolt 30 fits, seeespecially FIG. 2. The guide pin 30 is furthermore guided in a guidepath 32 which is made in the roof frame 12 and which runs in thevertical direction of the roof, i.e., essentially perpendicular to thedirection of motion of the guide element 26, such that it can be movedonly perpendicularly to the direction of motion of the guide element 26(i.e., in the illustrated example, only in the vertical direction of theroof), see FIGS. 2, 3, 5 and 7. The guide pin 30 is connected at itsback by means of a flexible element 34, which can be made, for example,as a band, to a hold-down 36 which is permanently engaged with the winddeflector 10, see especially FIG. 5.

Instead of being made as a rotary motor with a downstream arrangementfor conversion of a rotary motion into a linear motion, the servomotorcan also be made as a linear motor.

The manner of operation of the positioning device for the wind deflector10 explained below. For example, if lowering of the wind deflector 10 isdesired proceeding from the fully raised position with the closingelement opened, for example, because a given speed threshold isexceeded, the servomotor is triggered accordingly into rotary motionwhich causes displacement of the spindle 20 in the transverse directionof the roof. In addition or alternatively, to produce a positioningwhich is dependent on the driving speed, the control of the servomotor18 can take place, for example, also depending on the degree of openingof the closing element.

Via the coupling element 24, the displacement motion of the spindle 20is converted into a corresponding displacement motion of the element 22which is stiff in tension-compression in the transverse direction of theroof, the guide element 26 also being pushed accordingly in thetransverse direction of the roof. As a result of the fitting of theguide pin 30 into the guide path 28 and the inclination of the guidepath 28 (which is made in this example as a straight path with a uniformpitch) depending on the direction of rotation of the motor 18, loweringor raising of the guide pin 30 takes place, the latter moving up or downin the roof frame-mounted guide and guide path 32. FIG. 5 shows theguide pin 30 in its top position, i.e., in the position in which thewind deflector 10 is fully raised, in addition the hold-down 36 beingshown with the flexible band 34 also in the position which is loweredwith respect to the fully raised position.

The flexible element 34 provides for a connection between the guide pin30 and the hold-down 36 which is stiff in tension, but not incompression. When the guide pin 30, as a result of the displacementmotion of the guide element 26, moves down in the roof frame-mountedguide path 32, accordingly, by means of the coupling formed by theflexible element 34 which is stiff in tension, the hold-down 36, andthus the wind deflector 10, is pulled down a corresponding distance in amanner overcoming the pre-tensioning of the spring of the wind deflector10. In this way, the wind deflector 10 can be lowered from the fullyraised position, selectively into intermediate positions, by means ofthe servomotor 18. However, it is not necessary for the wind deflectorto be able to be moved into the fully lowered position by means of theservomotor 18 since this generally takes place anyway when the closingelement is closed by actuation of the side arms 14 (in this case,flexibility of the connecting element 34 is necessary). Theaforementioned fully raised position is shown in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 1, in a symmetrical arrangement in the vicinity of theside edge, on each of the two sides, there is a respective one of theguide elements 26, both of which are jointly driven by the servomotor18, and by which a respective one of the hold-downs 36 engages pointswhich are spaced in the transverse direction of the roof.

Preferably, the entire positioning device is located in the area of thefront part of the roof frame 12 and is at least partially integratedinto it. The roof frame acts as a body-mounted carrier for thepositioning device.

The wind deflector 10, instead of the embodiment which is shown in FIG.1 with two side arms 14, can be made alternatively as a wind deflectorlouver which can be raised at its rear edge by pivoting around an axisof rotation which runs in the transverse direction of the roof on ornear the front end of the wind deflector louver. In this case, in thevicinity of the rear edge of the wind deflector louver, the hold-downsfeasibly engage the louver in order to lower it into the intermediatepositions.

Furthermore, kinematic reversal of the positioning mechanism describedpreviously is also possible. In such a case, then, the guide elementwhich can be moved in the transverse direction of the roof (in theillustrated example, the guide element 26) would not be provided with aguide path, but would be made as an engagement element, especially as aguide pin, while the element which can be moved in the verticaldirection of the roof (in this example, the guide pin 30) is providedwith an inclined guide path or guideway with which the engagementelement is movably engaged. This kinematic reversal of the positioningmechanism is shown in FIG. 11, where the guide element is connected tothe drive 18 carried by the body-mounted carrier 12.

It goes without saying that the guideway need not necessarily be made asa guide slot, but can also be made in some other way, for example, as aguide crosspiece, the engagement element accordingly not necessarilyhaving to be made as a guide pin, for example, being made as a slidingblock which extends around the guide crosspiece.

Furthermore, it is noted that the illustrated positioning mechanismcould be used not only for lowering the wind deflector, but also forraising it. In this case, the connection between the engagement elementand the hold-down would have to be made not only stiff in tension, butalso stiff in compression. Then, the positioning mechanism could also beused fundamentally to reach the end positions of the wind deflector.

1. Motor vehicle roof, comprising: with a roof opening, a closingelement which is movable to selectively close and at least partiallyclear the roof opening, a wind deflector located in an area of a frontedge of the roof opening and which is movable between a lowered positionand a fully raised position, and a positioning device for settingintermediate positions of the wind deflector between the lowered andfully raised positions, the positioning device having a holder whichengages the wind deflector and an displacement mechanism which is drivenby a drive and by means of which the holder is vertically movable todictate the intermediate positions of the wind deflector, wherein thatthe displacement mechanism has a guide element which is driven by thedrive in a direction of motion along the wind deflector, wherein theguide element has an inclined guideway along which an engagement elementwhich is connected to the holder is movably guided, and wherein theengagement element is supported on a body-mounted carrier for movementwith respect to the carrier only in a direction normal to the directionof motion of the guide element.
 2. Motor vehicle roof as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the guideway is a guide path.
 3. Motor vehicle roof asclaimed in claim 2, wherein the guide path is a guide slot and theengagement element is a guide pin which is guided in the guide slot. 4.Motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 2, wherein the engagement elementis movably guided on the body-mounted carrier in a guide path which runsin the vertical direction of the roof.
 5. Motor vehicle roof as claimedin claim 1, wherein the guide element is driven to move in a transversedirection of the roof along a front area of the wind deflector.
 6. Motorvehicle roof as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wind deflector ispre-tensioned toward the fully raised position.
 7. Motor vehicle roof asclaimed in claim 6, wherein the wind deflector is lowerable by closingthe closing element against the pretensioning force.
 8. Motor vehicleroof as claimed in claim 6, wherein the holder acts as a hold-downagainst the pre-tensioning force to dictate the intermediate positionsof the wind deflector.
 9. Motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 8,wherein the holder is connected to the engagement element by a flexibleelement.
 10. Motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 9, wherein theflexible element forms a connection which is stiff in tension, but notin compression.
 11. Motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 10, where inthe flexible element is a band.
 12. Motor vehicle roof as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the wind deflector extends over the entire width of theroof opening.
 13. Motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 1, wherein thewind deflector is pivotable around a body-mounted axle which runs in thetransverse direction of the roof.
 14. Motor vehicle roof as claimed inclaim 12, wherein the axle lies on a rear end of the wind deflector. 15.Motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide element isconnected to a drive by an element which is stiff in tension-compressionand which is guided along a guide on the body-mounted carrier.
 16. Motorvehicle roof as claimed in claim 15, wherein the guide element is of aone-piece construction which includes the element which is stiff intension-compression.
 17. Motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 1,wherein the drive has a servomotor with a downstream arrangement forconversion of a rotary motion into a linear motion.
 18. Motor vehicleroof as claimed in claim 17, wherein the drive is formed by a spindlewhich is driven by a rotary motor.
 19. Motor vehicle roof as claimed inclaim 18, wherein the spindle is connected to the element which is stiffin tension-compression by a coupling element.
 20. Motor vehicle roof asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the drive is triggered depending on at leastone of driving speed and degree of opening of the closing element. 21.Motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 1, wherein there are at least twopositioning mechanisms and two holders, the positioning mechanisms beingdriven by a common drive.
 22. Motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 21,wherein the holders engage at points which are spaced in the transversedirection of the roof
 23. Motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 22,wherein the points at which the holders engage are in lateral edge areasof the wind deflector.
 24. Motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 1,wherein the entire positioning device is located in the area of thefront edge of the roof opening.
 25. Motor vehicle roof as claimed inclaim 24, wherein the body-mounted carrier is a front section of a framewhich is located below the roof opening and which runs in the transversedirection of the roof.
 26. Motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 25,wherein the positioning device is integrated at least in part into thebody-mounted carrier.
 27. Motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 26,wherein the closing element is a cover.
 28. Motor vehicle roof asclaimed in claim 13, wherein the wind deflector is made as a winddeflector louver which can be raised at its rear edge.
 29. Motor vehicleroof, comprising: with a roof opening, a closing element which ismovable to selectively close and at least partially clear the roofopening, a wind deflector located in an area of a front edge of the roofopening and which is movable between a lowered position and a fullyraised position, and a positioning device for setting intermediatepositions of the wind deflector between the lowered and fully raisedpositions, the positioning device having a holder which engages the winddeflector and an displacement mechanism which is driven by a drive andby means of which the holder is vertically movable to dictate theintermediate positions of the wind deflector, and wherein thedisplacement mechanism has an engagement element which is driven by thedrive into motion along the wind deflector and which is movably engagedto an inclined guideway of a guide element which is permanentlyconnected to a holder, the guide element being supported on abody-mounted carrier such that it can be moved with respect to thecarrier only in a direction normal to the direction of motion of theengagement element.